There are moments when I embark on time travel, listening with an ear as big as an elephant’s to old folk recalling events that still linger in their aging memory bank. A couple of days ago, I chatted with two elderly men in a quaint café in Victoria. I was amazed how lucid their minds are in spite of the many calendars they have discarded so far.
Unsurprisingly, the discussion centred around the Gozo Channel ferry ramp that malfunctioned on Maundy Thursday. After a brainstorming session of how the company could perform better – peppered with a sprinkling of conspiracy theories – the conversation took a superstitious turn.
“Gozo Channel ships don’t have any luck with Maundy Thursday,” said one of the weathered men whose skin looked like that of an alligator. Somewhat amused because I’m a regular commuter on the ferries, I asked, bluntly, why so? With a conspiratorial look on their faces they recalled the day the ferry Xlendi hit a reef off Cominotto in the early 1990s.
For me that triggered the moment for some shoe leather reporting as I rushed to the public library to look up reports of that incident. After flipping countless pages of newsprint, getting my hands soiled with the black ink that stuck to my fingers, I hit the jackpot.
On April 16, 1992, which happened to be Maundy Thursday, the Times of Malta headlined, ‘Gozo ferry runs aground near Cominotto’. The story which carried no by-line said that at around 9.30 pm the new vessel to the Gozo Channel fleet, the MV Xlendi ran aground at Comino close to Cominotto which lies somewhat mollycoddled between her two bigger siblings. None of the 80 passengers were injured and only slight damage was caused to one of the 42 cars on board, the newspaper recorded.
Fast forward to Maundy Thursday 2018 when the main ramp of the Malita malfunctioned due to hydraulic failure. This led to the two remaining ferries to carry out the shuttle service between the two islands. This incident added to the morose mood of the day as an endless queue of cars snaked from Ċirkewwa all the way to the roundabout at l-Aħrax in Mellieħa.
Whenever Gozo Channel makes the headlines, the news somehow turns out to be a prickly pear with both passengers and the company getting stung
For my sins, I too was caught in the eye of the ramp dysfunction because it was not the way I, and I suppose everyone else in the queue planned to spend that evening.
To get the whole picture of how the mayhem started, I wanted to hear it either from the horse’s mouth or from someone close to the ‘horse’. A source who asked to remain anonymous said that the incident could not be attributed to anyone in particular.
“What happened with the ramp was a wear-and-tear issue, considering that ramps are opened and closed around 5,000 times a year”. Weekly inspections are carried out to make sure that everything is running smoothly, the source added.
“There are times, however, when the company could take more immediate steps when shortcomings are pointed out.”
The importance the ferries hold is paramount which means that there can be no room for error. Considering the fact that a permanent link between the two islands is not something that Gozitans and Maltese unanimously agree on, realistically speaking, if a tunnel were to be built connecting the two islands, it won’t materialise in a blink.
The same goes for the long overdue fast-ferry service, where from time to time we hear some tortoise updates about the exact ‘location’ of these fast ferries, which probably are in on some forsaken drawing board. The more practical investment the company can make is to refine its current service.
Whenever Gozo Channel makes the headlines, the news somehow turns out to be a prickly pear with both passengers and the company getting stung. It’s no secret that more people are flocking to the sister island. Last Christmas was a case in point when the company announced a six per cent increase in passengers compared to the year before. Additionally, more Gozitans are seeking employment in the big brother’s land.
The fact that the ferries are the only means to make it to Gozo and vice-versa unless you jump on a fisherman’s boat, underscores their value.
‘Sustainable investment’ cannot remain a fancy catchy phrase from the laundry list politicians preach from the rooftops during election fever. The emphasis is on the term ‘sustainability’ because to a measureable extent, Gozo still enjoys the balm of tranquility which, however, seems to have come into the cross hairs of construction companies which are creeping closer to shore.
Josef Cutajar is a final-year student reading for an honours degree in media and communications at the University of Malta.